Helen Mirren in the film The Queen. Photo / Reuters
Helen Mirren in the film The Queen. Photo / Reuters
KEY POINTS:
The film company that accidentally bleeped every mention of God out of an Air New Zealand in-flight version of the Oscar-nominated film The Queen has finally discovered how the error occurred.
At one point bemused passengers heard, "(Bleep) bless you, ma'am," as one character spoke to Her Majesty,played by Dame Helen Mirren.
The word God was removed seven times in all after an inexperienced employee of a California company that edits movies for in-flight entertainment was told to take out all profanities - including any blasphemy.
A bleep was inserted each time a character said God, instead of just when used as part of a profanity, says Jeff Klein, president of Jaguar Distribution, which distributed the movie to Air New Zealand, Delta and other carriers this month.
"A reference to God is not taboo in any culture that I know of," Mr Klein said. "We excise foul language, excessive violence and nudity."
He learned of the slip when a London-bound Air NZ passenger complained.
The airline apologised for showing "the incorrect version of the film".
Jaguar has been replacing all the cassettes it sent out - in English and other languages - to its airline clients with the unedited version of the movie.
The Queen, which depicts the reactions of Elizabeth II and Tony Blair in the week after Princess Diana's death in 1997, has been nominated for Oscars for best picture and best actress for Dame Helen.
